Now the latest thing in the paper is that kids need to attend "kindergarten camp" before starting kindergarten. WHAT???
My question is WHY?? Is it really necessary? One of the teachers said it would have made her more confident on her first day of kindergarten if she had attended something like this. Seriously, folks, do you remember your first day in kindergarten? Was it so traumatic to you that it changed your life forever?? Are you still having nightmares about the proper way to finger paint? Are you still unable to take a nap on a rug in the middle of the day due to the extreme angst you felt over not knowing that those naps would happen?
I don't remember much about kindergarten and pre-school at all. I rememer learning cool songs like, "I'm a Little Teapot" which my mother made me perform at the grocery store one time. I remember being more traumatized by a class trip to see "Bambi" and the fact his mom was killed in the movie than anything in the kindergarten classroom.
It is time we get a grip!
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2 comments:
Sadly Kindergarten is no longer finger paint and naps. Kindergarten in the new first grade. Teachers and school districts are expected to have their students reading at the end of the year. This is hard when on the first day of school you have a class full of students who have NEVER been in a school setting before, or even away from their parents for more than a few hours. Kindergarten camp allows students to adjust and build fine motor skills and learn classroom behaviors like sitting on a rug, raising your hand before you answer etc. You would be amazed at how long it actually takes to teach these skills. There isn't even enough time in the day to allow students to learn to color in the lines, or cut with scissors because there is so much focus on "academics", and that is with all day kindergarten. Is it right?, no, do I agree that so much pressure should be put on a 5 yr old, definitely not, but sadly that is the new reality. I wish my district had Kindergarten camp. I am a kindergarten teacher and I think that my students would of really benefited from something like that. Many of my students come to school unable to recognize their own name, let alone write it, they don't know the name of a single letter of the alphabet, let alone it's sound, and few can even count past 5. I wish I could spend time doing finger paint and arts and crafts with my students, or even allow them to take a few minutes to rest after lunch. Sadly something like that would end up with me getting a stern lecture from my Principal.
I mean no offense, I just thought you might like more info.
Thank you for your comment, Andrea. That is so sad. Many kids are now taught these skills at home because the parents think the schools should handle it. Now these kids will be so far behind the other kids that they will have trouble catching up.
I really appreciate your insight!
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